United Russia

United Russia is a conservative political party in Russia, founded on 1 December 2001 by Sergey Shoygu, Mintimer Shaimiev, and Yury Luzhkov. The party would be led by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev during the early 21st century, and it appealed to non-ideological voters in addition to oligarchs, nationalists, and militarists. The party opposed gay rights, advocated Russian nationalism (such as the invasions of the Republic of Gerogia, Chechnya, and Ukraine and the bombing of Syria), and protected the interests of wealthy oligarchs, who used the party to mask their illegal dealings. The party has been nicknamed the "party of crooks and thieves" for rigging elections and dealing in corruption, although it was the largest and most powerful party in Russia for years. In 2016, the party held 141/170 Federation Council seats, 342/450 State Duma seats, 76/85 gubernatorial seats, and 2,840/3,787 regional parliamentary seats.